Railway-tie



No. 753,171. PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904.

J. G. SHUSTER.

I RAILWAY TIE.

APPLI UATION FILED JULY 11, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

W/YNESSES: [/VVENTOR /5%// ffiaafa- UNITED STATES Patented February 23,1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,171, dated February23, 1904. I Application filed July 11, 1903. Serial No. 165,151. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN G. Snusrnn, acitizen of the United States,residing at Caldwell, in the county of Sumner and State of Kansas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Ties, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in railway-ties; andits object is to provide a device of this character which can also beemployed for fastening together the adjoining ends of the rails, wherebya firm connection between the rails may be formed and the ends thereofsupported to prevent pounding by wheels passing thereover.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists inproviding a tie, preferably formed of metal, having grooves in the endsthereof for the reception of the baseflanges of the rails and the lowerportion of the webs thereof. The flanges extend upward from the sides ofthese grooves to form fishplates, which are adapted to clamp uponopposite sides of the webs of the ends of the rails, and therebysecurely hold the ends together.

The invention also consists in the further novel construction andcombination of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred form ofmy invention, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the tie,showing rails in position thereon. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the tie, andFig. 3 is a front elevation thereof.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 is a tie,preferably formed of metal and rectangular in form, the central portionthereof being cut away, as shown at 2, to save material. The ends arealso cut away midway their length, whereby is formed a tie of twoparallel members connected by two transverse parallel webs. Parallelgrooves 3 are formed near the ends of the tie and extend entirely acrossthe width and length of the members and webs, respectively, and belowthe upper surface thereof and are enlarged at their bases, so as toreceive the base-flanges of rails 4. The Walls of the remaining portionof the grooves are parallel. Flanges 5 extend upward from the edges ofthe grooves 3 and are of such size as to abut against the lower surfacesof the heads of the rails and are spaced apart a sufiicient distance topermit the webs of the rails to fit snugly therebetween.

When it is desired to secure rails together by means of the tie hereindescribed, the ends of said rails are inserted longitudinally within thegrooves 3, so as to bring their abutting ends into position adjacent thecenter of the slots. Bolts 6 are then inserted through apertures formedwithin the flanges 5 and through apertures provided therefor in the websof the rails 4, and the flanges are thus firmly clamped upon the webs ofthe rails and secure said rails together against independentlongitudinal and lateral movement. As the tie is formed in a singlecasting, it will firmly support the ends of the rails thereon, and asthe flanges 5 are integral with the tie it is obvious that independentlongitudinal movement of the rails is prevented. As the grooves areformedin this invention the tie proper not only receives the base of therail, but a portion of the web, thereby greatly reducing the strain uponthe flanges of the grooves, preventing fracture of the same.

In the foregoing description I have shown the preferred form of myinvention; but I do not limit myself thereto, as I am aware thatmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve theright to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of myinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is Acombined tie and rail-joint comprising a casting having a centralcut-out portion and also having its ends cut away to provide twoparallel members connected to each other by parallel transverselyarranged webs, said members and webs being provided with groovesextending throughout their entire width and length respectively, andbelow the upper faces of the members and webs, the lower portions of thegrooves conforming to the contour of the flanges of rails and the wallsof the upper portion thereof being parallel, In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature in and parallel flanges extending upward from thepresence of two Witnesses. upper edges of said grooves and extending thea entire length thereof, said flanges forming fish- JOHN SHUSTER' 5plates and provided With apertures fof the re- Vitnesses:

ception of rail engaging and securing means, H. G. KEELING,

the entire device being formed integral. 1; O. BUTCHER.

